Skater earns spot on Team USA through video contest

"I want to show the world that there are no limits other than what you set for yourself,"
says John Roufaiel '05, who trained to compete against 127 other downhill ice-cross
racers for 64 slots in the Red Bull Crashed Ice competition in St. Paul, Minn., in
late February.

Turns out that his skates were the limiting factor; he broke one blade during his
second practice run and was forced to skate in someone else's equipment.

Roufaiel, who earned a bachelor's in Middle Eastern studies and Arabic plus two minors
in chemistry and biology at Binghamton, was a wild-card pick for Team USA by way of
a video contest. He was one of six skaters selected from among 80 video submissions,
he says. In his video, the second-year medical student details his losses — floor
hockey titles, med-school tests, a broken back and his friend and fellow alumnus,
Cenzig Emre Ergun '05, who died in of leukemia in 2010. He was 26.

"We have a memorial in his honor and tree and plaque in front of it on campus at Binghamton
near the entrance to the Nature Preserve," Roufaiel says.

Roufaiel learned in early February that he made the team. He flew from the Caribbean,
where he attends med school, into St. Paul, Minn., for preliminary time trials the
weekend of the event. Each heat starts with four skaters bursting out of a chute at
the top of what looks like a bobsled run. They race down the course — a 40-meter vertical
drop — negotiating curves and moguls and hills. The finalists moved on to compete
on Saturday.

After his skate broke, he was able to borrow a pair, but skating at fast speeds over
obstacles on unfamiliar skates caused him to fall too many times to stay in the competition;
he was four seconds shy of making it to the next round.

The next day Roufaiel was invited to join a team that needed a third member. He got
his skate fixed, but with a different-sized blade. He crashed hard.

Despite his bad luck, Roufaiel has a winning attitude. "I guess finishing as the 87th-ranked
American is not bad for a 31-year-old Caribbean medical student who only skated on
the ice for one month out of the whole year and with someone else's skates," he says.

As he was preparing to fly back to Antigua and back to school, Roufaiel sent a letter
to Binghamton University. In it, he says, "I know medical school is no easy task,
especially with the board exams coming up soon. I want to continue studying, working
on producing my anatomy and physiology apps for the app stores and training for Crashed
Ice. I know these seem like hard goals to do together, but I believe in myself. Some
people tell me I'm crazy, others say I'm unrealistic and others don't know what to
say.

"I don't fear the long hours or pain it may take. I don't worry about being judged
while I grind or having to stand alone at times in the dark, not knowing when and
where the light will shine. I understand there will be sacrifices that must be made.
I know who I am and I believe in what I can do, and so should everyone else."

Roufaiel says people can still contribute to his efforts to keep training and competing.
"Any extra money raised will be donated to starting Emre's Mission, to help battle
cancer, and to children with disabilities at the Amazing Grace Foundation in Antigua,
where I go to medical school. Your company will be thanked as a supporter as well,"
he adds.

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